DJI: Dow Jones Slides on New Rate Fears

The blue-chip index was the least impacted by the broad-based retreat as banks stood their ground.

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average scaled back on Tuesday, together with its two peers, the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500. The 30-stock blue-chip average tumbled just 0.12% as bank stocks kept a solid footing. The Nasdaq dropped 0.45%, while the S&P 500 dipped 0.16%.
• Investors sense that further interest-rate increases might be back on the Fed’s menu for several reasons. One is that cooling banking-sector turmoil is raising the prospects of rates staying elevated for longer. Another one is Friday’s PCE data and whether it will show that inflation stayed high in February.
• In any case, market participants are once again optimistic to hold banking stocks. First Citizens Bank is up over 20% since it announced it will acquire Silicon Valley Bank on Monday. First Republic, which was hit in the fallout from SVB, fell 2.3% on Tuesday.